This invention relates to musical instruments and is more particularly related to a novel drum construction and the methods and processes for making and tuning a drum, as well as for constructing novel drum staves and manufacturing a novel drum. The invention includes specialized tuning, arranging, joining, and tensioning methods for drum manufacturing and for stave-construction drum shells that may utilize specialized tuning, joining, and tensioning methods. Novel staves, novel tensioning systems, and novel optional variations of the bearing edge provide different sounds and timbres are disclosed, which cannot be achieved with conventional prior art drums.
Thus this disclosure provides preferred embodiments of a drum that is tuned with conventional tuning instruments and tools, such as but not limited to a band saw, mill, lathe, sander, drill, strobe, oscilloscope, lights, lasers, trade secrets, and/or CNC machinery. The disclosure utilizes a plurality of tuned staves providing a profile for said staves, assembled with one or more tensioned flexible lines wherein the assembly comprises a tuned sounding board, resonating chamber, or drum shell that is mounted into a novel tensioning mechanism comprising tensioning rim(s), support rim(s), vibratory member(s) (commonly known as a head(s), drum head(s), and may in particular be referred to as batter and carry head(s) wherein one is struck or excited and the other resonates respectively), pluralities of tensioning rods, washers, threaded rods, nodal blocks, nuts, and optional variations in the bearing edge.
This novel type of stave construction drum comprising a tuned sounding board, resonating chamber, or drum shell allows it's bearing edges to vary from stave to stave and/or from opposed ends. The preferred embodiment of this invention may utilize the following shapes pertaining to the bearing edge: an angle, a radius, a flat, and/or being partially omitted. Thus any pattern or option of bearing edge shapes may be built into the novel array of tuned staves allowing for a variable bearing edge.
The flexible line(s) biases an array of adjacently positioned novel tuned staves which are apertured arranging said flexible line(s) through said aperture and allowing the plurality of tuned staves to take and hold the shape of a cylinder wherein said novel tuned staves extend from the inside to the outside of the drum. Said novel tuned staves are adapted to vibrate freely when excited and harbor the ability to move relative to one another enhancing the overall timbre, response, effectiveness, dynamics, and versatility of the drum. The preferred embodiment of this disclosure includes an assembled array of tuned staves comprising a tuned sounding board, resonating chamber, or drum shell biased by a flexible line that is suspended between vibratory members wherein said vibratory members are tensioned to the tuned drum shell on opposed ends with a novel tensioning mechanism which positions a plurality of tensioning rods in tensioning rims allowing for a predetermined sound when vibratory member is excited.
A plurality of tensioning rods are positioned through a plurality of washers and clearance holes in said tensioning rims and said plurality of tensioning rods are joined to a plurality of threaded rods which are held in position by one or more support rims. The plurality of said tensioning rods are torqued down tensioning the vibratory members onto the tuned drum shell. One or more support rims holds the plurality of threaded rods in position. In turn the plurality of threaded rods supports a plurality of nodal blocks wherein adjustable tensioning means flexibly secures said nodal blocks in a selected position. Said nodal blocks which when engaged fully may function as a tuning place holder allowing either vibratory member to be kept at the same relative tuning position to the novel tuned drum shell in the event that the vibratory members may need to be removed or changed. When said nodal blocks are fully or partially engaged and selectively positioned, they may serve as a way to change the timbre of the drum by changing the way that the tuned drum shell may vibrate or resonate through the accentuation or attenuation of frequencies tuned into said tuned staves. When said nodal blocks are fully engaged or fully disengaged, they may allow the tuned drum shell to mimic the timbre of a conventional drum shell with hardware attached to it or project the timbre of a completely free-floating drum shell respectively. When said nodal blocks are fully or partially engaged, they may act as a dampening mechanism. Said nodal blocks may be discreetly located along the length of a respective stave or staves and threaded rods and flexibly secured into selective positions by nuts.
The present invention provides a sounding board, resonating chamber, or drum shell construction wherein specific frequencies or pitches are achieved through the manipulation of the geometry and tonal characteristics of said sounding board, resonating chamber, or drum shell and particularly the staves comprising said sounding board, resonating chamber and/or drum shell. The tuning scheme of the disclosed invention permits fundamental pitches and/or overtones of the drum shell to be selectively manipulated helping to selectively define the sound or intonation desired within the physical limitations of the disclosed invention. Thus dissonance, consonance or any middle ground between those two extremes may be predetermined and set to a tuning scheme, orientation, or configuration of the plurality of tuned staves within the physical limits of the structure of the invention. Said tuned staves may be selectively arranged adjacently to one another freely joined together with a flexible line that provides a means for ascertaining one or more musical tones from exciting a vibratory member to in turn excite said staves according to said selected frequencies. The tuning of the staves may also serve to increase the volume on the inside of the drum assembly thereby maximizing the amount of displaced air upon excitation giving said tuned drum shell a wider dynamic range while maintaining traditional drum sizes.
Novelty also resides in the method of joining staves with a flexible line(s). Tension on the flexible line(s) may be selectively tensioned to a predetermined degree with a tool such as a torque wrench and the amount of tension may affect the overall timbre of the assembled drum. The flexible line(s) also give the instrument more durability than any stave construction shell in the prior art because if this novel shell is dropped it will not break apart as will conventional stave construction drums. Said flexible line(s) allows the current invention a novel flexibility that allows said tuned drum shell to expand when vibratory members are excited and this may eliminate the need for a relief hole found in virtually all-prior art drums. Said flexible line(s) may eliminate the necessity of any adhesive from the stave construction drum shell design.
The present invention provides three distinct and novel tensioning mechanisms. The tensioning systems of the plurality of tuned staves through the flexible line(s), the tensioning system of the vibratory member(s) to the tuned drum shell, and the optional tensioning system that can be applied through the activation of the nodal blocks. Working in concert these systems along with the novel tuned drum shell transcend any prior art and provide unprecedented aural and physical capabilities in a sounding board, resonating chamber, drum shell, or drum assembly. Thus the disclosed invention incorporates a series of systems into a musical body commonly known as a drum or a percussion instrument and it allows greater versatility in the function, tuning, dynamics, and timbre of the drum.